Of Relevance and Intent, Choose Your Keywords Wisely
Looking to optimize your web site in an effort to generate higher keyword rankings? Before you commit to a single change you will need to do some work. The first step is to do your keyword research.
Look at your web site analytics. Learn what words and phrases your customers use to find you in search engines. Have on site search? Mine your search logs to see what keywords visitors use to search your site.
Research the amount of competition for your top keywords. Pull up your top ten competitor web sites. In your browser go to view>source. Scan the source code for the keyword meta tag in between the <head> tags at the top of the page. What keywords are they targeting? Look at their major product or service pages. What words are used for titles, bread crumbs and navigation links?
Once you have compiled your keyword list research the number of competitors being listed for each term. Type them into Google, Yahoo and Bing. Use this information to further refine your list so you are targeting the most attainable keywords.
Take your refined list review each keyword and assign it number for relevance. Use this scale to flush out the phrases most relevant to your business. If you sell cars than ‘car dealership’ is much more relevant than ‘car club’ or ‘car service’. Challenge yourself to keep only the most relevant keywords in your list.
Finally categorize the keywords by intent. Think about the difference in intent between someone searching for ‘shoes’ and someone searching for ‘pink crocks on sale’. A search for ‘shoes’ is general and informational in intent whereas the more specific search demonstrates a purchase intent. Each intent necessitates a different strategy and will have a different definition of success.
You should now be ready to begin incorporating your keywords into your web site optimization strategies. Keep in mind to revisit your keywords and web site search engine optimization strategies regularly.
